There are many times when a person who is seated in a portable chair, such as a lawn or patio chair or a wheelchair, needs a place to set down a hand-size container the person is holding but no suitable place is within convenient reach. Such hand-held containers may hold a beverage, medicine, or some other liquid, food or small objects, for immediate use by the person. It is important that whatever the person places the container onto or into to free up the use of his hands keeps the container reasonably secure from spilling its contents. It is also important that the person's access to the container is not impaired and that he be able to set down and recover the container without difficulty. The problem of where to put such a container is exacerbated by the movable nature of a portable chair because circumstances may necessitate the relocation of the portable chair after the person has been seated. This problem is particularly acute when the portable chair is a wheelchair which may be moved from one place to another while the person remains seated.
Also, portable chairs may be used in congested areas where seating density or pedestrian traffic is high. Therefore, it is important that the size of whatever the container is placed onto or into be small so as to avoid interference with surrounding chairs or traffic. McMullen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,724 describes a holding device for use in conjunction with a portable chair that may be used to hold a hand-size container. However the holding device described in McMullen is unsuitably large, having as it does, in addition to means for holding a hand-size container, extra length to accommodate the attachment of other devices such as an ashtray or a fishing rod holder.
Furthermore, because of the low cost of many portable chairs, it is desirable that whatever is provided for the purpose of holding a hand-size container be inexpensive. Due to the portable nature of portable chairs and the fact that most portable chairs are also collapsible for transport and storage, it is desirable that whatever is provided for holding such a container also be light-weight and, if it is attachable to the chair, that it be easy to attach and detach. Additionally, any holder that is attachable to a portable chair should have sufficient strength to be resistant to sagging under the weight of a hand-sized container so as to avoid spilling the contents of the container, especially when the container is open-topped and full of a liquid.